The Trump administration is poised to impose another round of tariffs on Chinese goods that are worth $200 billion as the U.S.-China trade war rages on. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday released a list of thousands of additional imported goods that could face 10% tariffs, including fruits and vegetables, apparel, luggage and tech gear, CNN reported. The move comes after the U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on Chinese goods worth $34 billion last week. Beijing quickly fired back with tariffs on $34 billion worth of imported U.S. goods.

I am in Brussels, but always thinking about our farmers. Soy beans fell 50% from 2012 to my election. Farmers have done poorly for 15 years. Other countries’ trade barriers and tariffs have been destroying their businesses. I will open...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2018

...things up, better than ever before, but it can’t go too quickly. I am fighting for a level playing field for our farmers, and will win!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2018

The new tariffs are a result of President Donald Trump following through on his promise to “punish” China if the country retaliated against U.S. penalties. In March, Trump proposed these tariffs as part of an intellectual property investigation of Chinese high technology companies. “We must take strong defensive actions to protect America’s leadership in technology and innovation against the unprecedented threat posed by China’s theft of our intellectual property, the forced transfer of American technology, and its cyber-attacks on our computer networks,” Lighthizer said.

Because China doesn’t import enough from the U.S. to match the value of the tariffs as it has previously done, Chinese officials are considering alternative forms of retaliation, The Wall Street Journal reported. The possibilities include holding up licenses for U.S. firms, delaying approval of mergers and acquisitions involving U.S. companies and ramping up inspections of American products at borders.

Senator Orrin Hatch on the Trump administration’s new Chinese tariffs: "Although I have supported the administration’s targeted efforts to combat China’s technology transfer regime, tonight's announcement appears reckless and is not a targeted approach"

— Edward Hardy (@EdwardTHardy) July 11, 2018

A prolonged trade war between the U.S. and China could prove challenging for the promotional products market, as prices on Chinese-made imported goods would increase. Industry firms – as well as retailers – would then have to decide whether to take a hit in their margins or pass the added cost onto buyers.

In 2017, a total of $506 billion in goods were imported from China, meaning the tariffs represent over 10% of the total annual value of Chinese imports, noted Joshua White, BAMKO’s (asi/131431) general counsel and senior vice president of strategic partnerships, in a white paper. White and BAMKO Vice President of Operations Max Levavi discussed the tariff proposals and how they’ll impact the promotional products industry in an exclusive podcast with Counselor in March.